Opponents of Springfield’s controversial pit bull ban have collected enough signatures to initiate a repeal effort, according to City Clerk Anita Cotter.

Now, City Council has 30 days to take action. Council can repeal the ordinance — or call for a special election and leave it up to the public to decide.

Andrea Roach, one of the repeal campaign leaders, told the News-Leader Monday she has "been on pins and needles all day" waiting for confirmation from the city.

"It is great news," Roach said. "It's nothing we didn't expect because we turned in more than triple (the number of signatures) than what was needed."

On Oct. 31, Roach said opponents of the ban turned in more than 7,800 signatures for a referendum petition.The City Clerk's Office had 20 days to verify that a sufficient number of signatures came from registered Springfield voters.

At least 2,228 verified signatures were needed for the petition to count. That number is equal to 10 percent of the total number of people who voted in the April general municipal election.

In keeping with policy, the clerk's office certified 2,269 signatures before stopping the certification process, said a city news release.

In a letter sent to Roach, Cotter writes that City Council is anticipated to take public comment on the issue at a meeting on Nov. 27.

Cotter told the News-Leader council will be considering two separate bills — one to repeal the pit bull ban, another to send the issue to a ballot.

Council is expected to make a final decision on Dec. 11, Cotter said.

Roach said she and other pit bull advocates plan to attend the meetings.

"It's in council's hands at this point," Roach said.

Pit bull ban

Now that the petition has been certified, the enactment of the ban — scheduled to be phased in starting January — is suspended, according to the release.

The ban would have grandfathered in pit bulls registered before the Jan. 1 deadline.

The effort to repeal the pit bull ban does not affect special restrictions on pit bulls, which have been in place for about a decade. Pit bull owners are required to spay or neuter their dogs, keep them muzzled and leashed in public, pay an annual registration fee and have a microchip inserted under their pit bulls' skin.